Turn parenting challenges into everyday fun!

July 23, 2007

What do you do with all the McDonald's toys?

Hi Parents,

If you are a normal family you probably have a nice collection of small toys from McDonalds, birthday party goody bags, festivals, and the numerous other places that like to pass out small plastic objects, but you may not know what to do with all of them. Are you concerned they are taking over your house? Are you looking for ways to redistribute them?

You can certainly share them with your recycling bin or donate them to your favorite charity or tie a few to each kid's birthday present you wrap to add a little decor, but here's another idea of how I put all of this plastic to good use in our home.

I collect all of the small toys from fast food, birthday party goody bags, fairs, etc. and put them into a sturdy 16 in. x 16 in. wicker box with a lid on it. The box is covered and looks trendy so it fits right in as decor in my front room.

Then whenever my kids have friends over to play we play games or go on a scavenger hunt and at the end we let them pick a prize from the wicker "treasure chest". It is worth it to save and recycle the plastic just to see the smile on their friend's face for just a few seconds when they pick a prize. The neighborhood kids think we have a really cool house and always want to visit since we pass out prizes! :-)

Once all the toys are collected into the box, I let each of my kids select 2-4 items that they really want to keep and otherwise they are not allowed to go into the box unless friends are visiting. This rule keeps the house picked up while making it a special time whenever their friends are over. My kids haven't looked in the box for awhile so many of the items seem new to them as well, so it is a win-win experience every time without the expense!

I would love to hear your ideas on how you "recycle the hundreds of small plastic toys" that are taking over your house!

Comments

I think another option is to "just say no" to the happy meal toy (or remove it and kindly return it back to them). Of course, that takes a huge culture change to get your kids to think in that mode (maybe show them some pictures of overcrowded landfills beforehand.

And did you know that the fast food and casual dining restaurants you eat in every day have secret menu items? A select few are in on the secret and now you are a part of this culinary elite. We aren't just talking about the barely secret In-N-Out Burger "hold the bread, lettuce wrapped burger,” oh no. We have items all over town, including an unhealthy smoothie at Jamba Juice and a San Francisco-only Mc10:35. The Consumerist is all over this, and now you can be too!!!

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